Set The Fire to The Third Bar
by XxxLEVITYxxX
Summary: Months after the divorce from her husband, Haley Hotchner is feeling lonely and is hoping to find love in a certain Dr. Spencer Reid. How will Reid react to her propositioning? More importantly, how will Hotch react? Reid/Haley. Please read and review!
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note**

**I'm baaaaaack :) No, I have not died. I have no idea where this idea came to me but it just did one day and I started looking for a story with the Reid/Haley pairing but I couldn't find any *tear* So I decided to write one of my own. It feel kind of weird being the first to write this pairing, like I'm not sure if it could work out or not since nobody has done it before. **

**This (obviously) takes place before Haley is killed but after she divorced Hotch. Also, this is my first attempt at something in the "romance" genre so be warned that it could turn out totally corny or terrible. Reid is probably a little out of character since, after all, a romance is involved and I've never written a romance before. **

**I don't own Criminal Minds nor the characters. All mistakes are my own. **

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><p>Spencer Reid lazily sprawled out on his couch and sipped his Sprite, flipping on the television to a documentary on how the Earth was made. He felt his eye lids slowly drift close as sleep slowly came to him. He was jarred awake by the sound of his phone ringing.<p>

"If this is a case…" he grumbled to himself and rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. He dug his phone out of his pocket and glanced at the caller ID and frowned in confusion.

Haley Hotchner.

"Hello?" he answered uncertainly.

"Dr. Reid?" came the female voice of Hotch's ex-wife.

"Ms. Hotchner, is everything alright?" Reid's FBI side immediately kicked in, automatically assuming something was wrong for her to call him. He stood up from his worn, brown sofa and began pulling on his Converse while balancing his phone between his ear and shoulder.

"I'm fine, everything's fine," she quickly assured him.

Reid stopped rushing around and his brow furrowed, "Then what's wrong?"

"Just… could you maybe come over?" she asked uncertainly.

"Excuse me?" Reid said in disbelief.

"Could you come over?" she repeated, more confidently this time.

"I-I… sure, I guess," he stuttered out.

"Thank you," she said gratefully.

Half an hour later, Reid found himself standing in front of Haley Hotchner's front door. It has been three months since she and Hotch divorced and Reid couldn't help but feel extremely awkward standing at his boss' ex-wife's house in the middle of the night.

He sighed; he didn't even know why he was here. Maybe she needed help with Jack or something? Reid shook his head, why would she call him for something like that? He didn't really know her that well, only meeting her a few times in the past in the occasional visit to the BAU or barbeque with the whole BAU team.

He was about to turn and just leave when the door opened and Reid saw Ms. Hotchner standing in the doorway. Her blonde hair hung just at her shoulders, slightly disheveled. She was wearing a knee-length, snow white, sleeveless sleeping gown and fuzzy, white slippers. She wasn't wearing any make-up to cover up her tired and worn expression. Her face broke out into a slightly embarrassed smile.

"Do… do you want to come in?" she asked shyly.

"Sure…" he said and stepped inside the home.

The house smelt slightly of peppermint and something at a cross between chocolate and cookies. Reid turned when he heard the front door close quietly. Ms. Hotchner met his eyes and smiled shyly again.

Reid cleared his throat awkwardly, "Hi."

"Hi," she replied. They stood there awkwardly for a moment, studying each other. Reid couldn't help but profile her. She was shifting her weight foot to foot and biting her lower lip as if thinking about some type of decision.

"Did you need something?" Reid finally broke the silence.

She smiled bashfully, "I was actually hoping for someone to talk to. My sister is out of the state for work and I don't have many other friends and you always seemed so…. Easy to talk to."

Reid felt a blush creep up his cheeks, "Well, I, uh… t-thank you."

"Do you want something to drink? Coffee, maybe?" she asked and began walking in the direction of the kitchen.

"Coffee is fine, thank you," he said, thankful for something to take away the awkwardness of the situation.

He watched her small frame prepare the coffee machine and Reid though about something casual to say.

"How's Jack doing, Ms. Hotchner?" he asked and leaned nonchalantly against the wall like it was completely normal to be hanging out with Hotch's ex-wife.

"Oh, please call me Haley," she said as she poured the coffee beans into the machine.

"Haley," Reid tested the name on his tongue. Okay, so now they were on a first-name basis. Nothing weird about that… right? He couldn't help but feel guilty about this whole thing, almost like he was cheating with Haley. Stop, he immediately told himself, you're just here to talk, nothing more.

He was brought out of his inner conversation by Haley's voice.

"Jack's been better," she said and sighed sadly as she turned back around to meet Reid's gaze, "I don't think he fully understands what's going on."

Reid nodded sadly in understanding, "My father left us when I was at a very young age… it wasn't exactly the easiest thing to go through. But it does eventually get easier." He attempted to comfort the woman.

She frowned, "I'm sorry about your dad."

"It was a long time ago," he shrugged off her sympathy.

They elapsed into yet another awkward silence.

"Where's Jack now?" Reid asked and then immediately scolded himself for asking such a stupid question.

"Upstairs sleeping," she said and jerked her chin towards the stair case to Reid's left.

"Ah," he nodded.

Reid shifted his weight and rolled his shoulders back as things got awkward again. Haley ran her hand through her blonde hair and smiled at Reid.

"You look… different," she commented.

Reid felt his cheeks warm again, "Is that good or bad?"

"Oh, good. Very good…" Haley's eyes roamed over Reid's body and he felt the urge to squirm under her gaze.

Haley's eyes met Reid's yet again and an embarrassed blush colored her cheeks. She opened her mouth to apologize but the coffee machine behind her beeped, signaling the coffee was done. She turned around to tend to the coffee, "You like yours sweet, right?"

"How'd you know?" he asked in surprise.

Haley laughed slightly, "Aaron used to talk about how you use up almost a whole bag of sugar in a week for your coffee."

From behind, Reid could tell her whole demeanor changed at the mention of her ex-husband. Her shoulders sagged slightly and she slouched down slightly. Reid frowned and knew he should do something to comfort her but he didn't know what to do.

He hesitantly walked over to her and placed a hand on her should, hopefully in a comforting way but Reid felt as if it came off as awkward. She stiffened at first to his touch but then, startling Reid, she turned around and threw her arms around his neck and held him tightly.

He froze, completely unsure as to how to respond. After a few moments of shock, he slowly wrapped his arms around the shaking woman. He felt her tears on his shoulder as she wept.

"I-I miss him so much," she whispered into his chest through her tears.

He began to rub small, circles into her back with his fingers in attempt to sooth her.

"Shh, it'll all be okay," he whispered and continued to rub her back.

"I just… I'm so lonely all the time a-and n-nobody cares!" she all but yelled.

"I care," he whispered and held her slightly tighter to his chest without even thinking about it.

Haley pulled away from him just enough to look him in the eyes. That was when all time stopped. Reid knew he should say something, pull away, run screaming, anything, but he couldn't bring himself to move from the embrace. Eyes locked, Haley slowly stood up on her toes and leaned in to kiss him.

As soon as their lips connected, Reid felt a jolt of electricity run front his lips down his spine. The kiss was sloppy- tongue filled with teeth clashing.

_No, no, no, NO! _He screamed at himself, _STOP!_

But he couldn't. Haley kissed him furiously, as if she would die the moment they stopped. And Reid kissed her back with the same intensity. He could taste the slight tang of saltiness from her tears on her lips. Her hands moved away from his neck and trailed down his chest. Reid jumped slightly when her cool fingers met the bare skin of his chest as she slipped her hand under his shirt. Goosebumps rose on his flesh and he moaned when she dug her nails gently down on the tender skin.

But as soon as her hand touched the belt on his pants, he yanked himself away from her. He stumbled backwards and rammed his back into the wall hard enough to leave a bruise.

"W-we can't… I… no," he stuttered. His face was flushed from the kiss and he felt his shirt hanging slightly out of his pants. Haley's eyes were slightly glazed over, her hair more disheveled than before, when she wrapped her arms around herself protectively.

"I'm sorry," she said in a voice just above a whisper and stared down at the slippers on her feet.

Reid swallowed audibly and stared at the emotionally broken woman standing just a few feet in front of him. Logically, the only reason she was acting this way is because she's in a fragile state of mind and she's craving the attention and touch was the automatic response his mind told him.

"I'm… I have to leave now," he said weakly and stumbled over to the door out.

"Wait!" she said almost hysterically and reached out to grab his arm.

He barely dodges her touch and practically ran out of the room and out the door. He barely noticed the cool gust of wind ruffle his hair and clothes as he jogged out to his car. He yanked open the door and practically dove inside.

He ran his hand across his face as he started up the car, what the hell was he suppose to do now?

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><p><strong>Yeeeeaaah, not too sure I like how this turned out : But then again, the beginning of the stories are always (to me) the hardest to write. **

**Reviews are welcomed with open arms!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note**

**Thank you for the reviews! To be honest, I was terrified to write this fic because of how... "out there" it was. I'm trying to make it seem somewhat realistic and I can't help but feel I'm failing at it. Oh, well, it's all just fan fiction anyway. **

**I own nothing. All mistakes are my own. **

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><p>Reid glared down at the open file lying on his desk in front of him. He was still on his first file, even being hours in to the work day. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get the feeling of Haley's soft lips on his own. The feeling of her hands on his chest, her soft breath on his skin, her-<p>

Reid jumped when someone put their hand on his shoulder. Reid whipped his head up from the file to see Derek Morgan standing over him, hand on his shoulder, with a concerned expression. Reid ran a hand through his hair, "Yes, Morgan?"

"You okay, kid? You look like you just set a bomb off," Morgan said, brows furrowing.

Reid laughed bitterly once, "Yeah, a bomb. Something like that."

Morgan frowned and pulled a chair up to the opposite side of Reid desk and sat down, "What's going on, man? You've been staring a hole into that piece of paper for two hours now."

Reid sighed and leaned back into his chair, "It's nothing, I just…"

Reid hesitated, should he tell Morgan what happened?

"You just…?" Morgan prompted, leaned forward on his elbows.

"Nothing," Reid finally said and gave Morgan what he hoped to be a reassuring smile.

Morgan eyed Reid for a moment before leaning in closer and whispering, "You know you can tell me anything, anytime, anywhere, right?"

Reid nodded, "Right."

Morgan eyed him for a few moments more before nodding, "Alright."

The day went on painfully slow, given Reid glanced at the clock every five seconds. He was still unsure if he should tell Hotch of not. Hotch was not only his boss, but his friend too, so he had to tell him… right? Maybe it would just be better to forget last night ever happened and move on. But then flashes of Haley's warm body against his flashed in his mind and he wasn't so sure if he could forget last night. If he even wanted to forget it.

Reid glanced up at Hotch's office; through the windows, he could see Hotch bent over his own stack of paperwork. Reid bit his lip and glared back down at his files. If he told Hotch, he may never forgive him. Sure, Haley and Hotch were divorced but even a blind man could see Hotch still loved her. And Haley loved him too. So what did last night mean?

Reid had never felt romantic feelings towards Haley but after last night, he felt something churn in his stomach. Was it love or lust? He shuddered at that term. _Lust. _He couldn't remember ever really _lusting_ towards someone. Sure, he's had sex with women, but did he really ever lust for them?

At the mention of sex, his mind flashed pictures of what Haley might look like naked. _STOP! _He immediately yelled at himself, _you're imagining your boss' ex-wife naked! Get a hold of yourself!_

Reid took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. Okay, he thought, why did Haley do what she did last night if she still loved Hotch? She's just recently been divorced so she's probably craving some kind of affection since she no longer has a husband to give it to her. But why him? Why Reid? She did say she didn't have any other friends and she doesn't seem like the kind of girl to go around sleeping with random men. So it had to be somebody she already knew. So in retrospect, it made some kind of sense.

Reid sighed yet again and ran a hand over his face. But the only reason she divorced Hotch was because of his job, right? And Reid had the same exact job as Hotch (except Hotch had a tad bit more work to do since he _was_ Unit Chief) so how does that make sense? Reid shook his head and glanced at the clock again. The mind of a woman was a place that Reid couldn't even fathom to understand.

"I'm going to take a lunch break, you guys want anything?" Reid asked and stood up from his desk, legs cracking from sitting down for so long.

Emily and Morgan looked up from their paperwork and paused, thinking, before answering.

"I'll take a tuna salad if you're going to Sal's Sandwiches," Prentiss said and Reid nodded before turning his attention to Morgan.

"I'll have a chicken sandwich, plain with no mayo," he said after another moments thought.

"Okay," Reid nodded before walking over to JJ's office. He knocked once before pushing the door open. JJ looked up from her files and smiled warmly, "Hey, Spence."

"Hey, I'm going to get lunch. Do you want anything?" he asked.

"Um, a plain ham and cheese sandwich would be fine with me, thanks," she said with a smile.

Reid nodded once before closing her office door. He made a quick trip to Rossi's office, who politely said he didn't want anything, and now he was standing in front of Hotch's office door. He hesitated before knocking; what if he knew what happened between him and Haley? He mentally kicked himself, how in the world would he know that? Just get a hold of yourself! What happened last night doesn't affect your relationship with Hotch.

Reid took two deep breaths before knocking twice on Hotch's door. A muffled "come in" met Reid's ears and he hesitantly pushed open the door. Hotch looked at Reid and raised his eyebrows in slight surprise to see the young genius in his office.

"Reid," he greeted with a slight nod.

"H-Hey, Hotch," Reid cursed himself for his shaky voice and cleared his throat before continuing, "I'm going to go get lunch, do you want anything?"

Hotch eyed him for a moment.

_Oh, my god, what if he knows?_ A small voice in his head squeaked. Calm down, deep breaths, inhale, exhale.

"No, I'm fine," he finally said.

"O-okay, I'll just… go then," Reid said awkwardly and started backing towards the door. Almost there… a few more steps…

"Oh, and Reid?" Hotch called out to him and Reid froze.

"Yes, sir?" Reid said.

"Are you alright?" Hotch asked and eyed him again, "You seem…. Off."

Reid shrugged it off and gave what he aimed to be a casual laugh but it came out somewhat hysterical, "Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Just tired, is all."

"Okay…" Hotch said, still sounding doubtful.

Reid nodded once more before making a hasty exit and sped walked through the bull pen and to the elevators. Once he was inside the elevator, he leaned up against the side of it and let out a long sigh of relief. Well, that didn't go too terribly.

He sighed again and shook his head as he exited the elevator. Who was he kidding? Hotch is a profiler for Pete's sake! He'll figure out what happened one way or another so why shouldn't Reid just tell him? Reid walked down the sidewalk to Sal's Sandwiches, deep in thought.

He entered the small diner and walked up to the man at the counter and told him his order. Telling Hotch would be the right thing to do, right? Reid didn't have many friends and Hotch was one of the only people close to him and Reid didn't want to lose him. But what if Hotch never wants to see him again if he tells him what happened?

"Is all that food for you?" a familiar female voice asked from behind him.

Reid spun around to see Haley Hotchner dressed in jeans and a purple tank-top holding Jack Hotchner's hand. Her hair was pulled up in a pony-tail and she wore an easy yet nervous smile.

"I-I, ah, it's for the team," he said, not-so-smoothly.

Haley nodded, "Yeah, Jack here wanted some French fries and this little diner was here and then I saw you and we just had to come over here and say hello."

"Oh, uh, hello," he stuttered.

Haley giggled, "Hello."

"Hi," came Jack Hotchner's small voice. Reid couldn't help but smile at his voice.

"Hi, Jack," he said to the little boy. The small boy blushed and hid behind his mother's leg.

Haley laughed lightly, "He's a little shy."

"Sir?" the man behind the counter called over Reid's attention. Reid turned around and grabbed two plastic bags, paid the man, and turned back around. Haley's happy expression had changed to one of anxiety.

"Haley?" Reid asked.

"Hm? Oh, Jack, why don't you go sit down over there for a moment while the adults talk," she said to her son and pointed over to a small table in the diner. Jack nodded and walked somewhat unsteadily to the table.

Haley turned back to Reid and sighed, "How about you come over tonight. Jack and I are watching The Lion King and I think it could give us a chance to talk about… things."

"I don't think-" Reid was beginning to decline but Haley held up her hand to stop him.

"I know how much this thing is affecting you and your job since you see Aaron everyday and I think the only way for this to go away is to talk about it," she explained.

Reid though for a moment, when she put it that way…

"Okay," he finally agreed.

Haley's face broke out into a grin and she nodded, "Well, okay."

Haley turned and called for Jack to come over. He jumped up and grabbed a hold of his mother's hand.

"Well, I'll see you tonight," she said with a smile.

"Tonight," he agreed.

She gave him one last smile before walking away; swinging her hips and Reid couldn't help but stare. Once they were out of the diner, Reid sighed and closed his eyes. He couldn't help but feel things were going to get a lot worse from here on.

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><p><strong>It'll start picking up a little in the later chapters.<strong>

**Reviews are welcome with open arms!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note**

**Thank you for your reviews! Here's yet another chapter, I hope you enjoy. **

**I own nothing. All mistakes are my own. **

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><p>Dr. Spencer Reid stood in front of the full-bodied mirror on the door to his closet and frowned; why couldn't he get it right? He sighed and ran the fine-toothed comb through his hair yet again, attempting to get his hair the way he wanted. And, like before, his hair refused to comply. Reid groaned and walked over to the bathroom connected to his bedroom and turned on the faucet. Pooling the cool water in his palm, he ran his hand through his hair, moistening every strand. He then took the comb and ran it through one more time and settled on how it looked.<p>

He walked back to the mirror and examined his reflection again. He had chosen casual dark-washed semi-tight jeans, a navy blue button-up shirt, his usual black Converse, and a grey cardigan. He ran his hand through his hair once more before grabbing his phone, keys, and wallet and headed out of the door.

When he had gotten back to the BAU earlier that day with everyone's lunch, he had attempted to calm his rapid heartbeat and concentrate on his paperwork. Which he failed at. When the end of the day had finally rolled around, Morgan had asked him if he wanted to join him for drinks at a local bar. Reid declined, hoping they wouldn't ask why since he very rarely ever agreed to have drinks, and quickly fled the BAU.

Now, he was on his way to Haley's small, suburban home. He nervously ran his hand through his hair again as he pulled into her driveway.

_Calm down_, he told himself, _you're only here to talk. _

_Yeah, that's what you came here last time for._

_Shut up!_

He sighed and leaned his forehead down on the steering wheel. He sat like that for a few moments before sitting up, turning off the car, and making his way up to her front door. He hesitated for a heart beat before knocking lightly twice on the light wood. Two heart beats later, Haley answered the door. She was wearing black sweat pants, a white tank-top, and a thin black sweater with her hair hanging loosely in her face. Reid felt an odd stirring on his belly when he saw her face light up in a smile when she saw him. He felt wanted.

"Uh, hey," he said and shifted his weight onto his left foot.

"Hello, Dr. Reid," she smiled warmly and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Oh, Spencer," he corrected her and then mentally slapped himself. Why'd the hell did he just do that? Spencer? Not even Morgan calls him Spencer!

"Spencer," she said with a smiled and moved over to give him room to walk inside, "Come in."

He nodded once at her before sliding in by her, their shoulders brushing for a second, raising goose bumps on his arms. His eyes scanned the room while the faint sound of the door being shut echoed around the room. Jack was sitting cross-legged on the white leather couch in front of the flat screen television with a bowl of popcorn balanced in his lap. He looked up when Reid entered the room and gave a shy smile and turned his attention back to the TV, which had the "Play Menu" displayed for The Lion King.

"Oh, sit wherever you want. We're pretty informal here," Haley said over her shoulder as she walked over to the couch and plopped down next to her son. Reid stood there, shifting his weight, for a few moments before walking over to the matching recliner next to Haley's side of the couch. He sat down softly, as if afraid it would fall apart the moments he sat on it. Haley smiled over at him before hitting the play button on the black remote in her hand.

The room was suddenly filled with the sound of cultural African music and Jack snuggled up against Haley's side. Reid shifted uncomfortably in his seat, feeling awfully out of place. A few minutes into the movie, Reid asked in a hushed voice, "So what did you want to talk about?"

"Just, you know, the kiss," Haley said without meeting Reid's eyes.

Reid twisted his hands in his lap, "Do you regret it?"

Reid looked nervously at Haley. In the dark room, only lightened by the TV; he could make out the delicate features of her face. Her lips were pursed in a thoughtful expression and Reid slightly feared her answer.

"I… don't regret it exactly," she began carefully, "but I wish it had happened under different circumstances."

"Such as?" Reid asked, not being able to help himself. She didn't regret it! He felt some kind of hope swell inside of his but at the same time, so did guilt.

Haley was quiet for a moment before she answered.

"I don't know," she finally said, "I guess… I just wanted us to have some sort of relationship, romantic or not, before that happened. I mean, I barely know you."

Reid laced his fingers together and rested his head in his hands, "So why did you do it?"

That was it. The magic question. Haley sighed, long and deep before she turned to meet his eyes. She bit her lip as she studied his face and he felt the urge to look away but couldn't compel himself to.

"I guess I just couldn't help myself," she finally said, in a voice just above a whisper.

Reid felt his breathing hitch. What did she mean by that? She still loved Hotch, so why would she feel that way towards him?

"I…" he said, fighting for the correct words, "But don't you still love Hot- er, Aaron?"

"Yes, I do," she said slowly, "And I don't know why I feel the way I do towards you. I just… do. Is that strange?"

He thought about that for a moment; was it strange? Yes. Did he want her to stop? Not really. Did he have feelings towards her? There was something there but he wasn't sure what those were. He didn't have much experience with love or even women for that matter so he had no clue what being "in love" felt like. Was it this? He didn't think so; didn't someone have to know someone for a long period of time before being "in love"?

"I don't know," he finally told her in all honesty.

Haley opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by her son asked, "Mommy?"

She smiled down at her son, who was lying comfortable in the crook on her arm, "Yes, sweetie?"

"Can we make cupcakes?" he asked.

"Cupcakes?" Haley asked and giggled just at the randomness of it.

Jack nodded and sat up, "Yeah, I wanna eat 'em."

Haley looked over at Reid with a smile on her face, "I guess we're going to be making some cupcakes."

She suddenly stood up, setting Jack on his feet and padded her way over to the kitchen, Jack trailing behind her. Reid stared after them for a second before standing up to follow them into the kitchen. He had vague memories of making cookies with his mother on some of her better days before his father had left them. They were always the better of his childhood memories but Reid couldn't help but feel guilty Jack was having this particular memory with him instead of his own father.

He leaned up against the wall and watched as Haley hummed as she took out all of the proper ingredients for cupcakes. She placed them all down on the island in the middle of the kitchen and picked up Jack so he was sitting on the island with them. She looked over at him and frowned when she saw him leaning against the wall, afraid to intrude on the family moment.

Haley waved him in, "Come on, Spencer, you're helping with these cupcakes if you want to or not."

Reid couldn't help the small smile form on his face as he walked up next to Haley. She smiled and pulled up the large, white bowl on the island and handed a raw egg over to Jack and took one in her own hand.

"Like this," she instructed and cracked the egg perfectly into the bowl. Jack frowned slightly at her and looked down at the egg in his hand. After a few minutes of hard thinking, he attempted the crack the egg into the bowl. Somehow, he had managed to get half of it in the bowl and the other half in his hair. How? Reid had no clue.

Haley laughed and wiped the egg out of his hair with a paper towel, "You silly boy, it's not suppose to go in your hair!"

She giggled and handed Reid an egg, "Your turn."

Reid smirked and cracked the egg into the bowl, "Amazingly, I can crack an egg without any catastrophe."

Forty minutes, eighteen paper towels, three hysterical bits of laughter, and one minor oven fire later, Reid found himself standing over a fresh-out-of-the-oven batch on vanilla cupcakes in need of icing. Haley had handed him a tube of pink icing and told him he got the honor of icing the fist cupcake. He positioned the tube over a cupcake, feeling Haley's and Jack's eyes watching him, and squeezed. Nothing came out.

Reid frowned and examined the top. He had opened it correctly, maybe it was stuck or something? He placed the tube back over the cupcake and squeezed it again. Like before, nothing came out.

"I think it's broken," Reid said to Haley.

"Nonsense, let me see it" she said and made a reach for it.

"See? It's not coming out," Reid said. To make his point, his held the tube up to her and squeezed it. Suddenly, a pink stream of icing came shooting out and hit her squarely in the face. Haley gasped while Jack busted out laughing.

Reid stared at her in shock, "Oh, my god. I'm so sorry!"

Haley wiped the pink icing off of her face and grinned wickedly at Reid and grabbed the tube of green icing off of the island, "Oh, this means war."

Reid frowned, "What do you-"

He was cut off when she shot him in the face with green icing. Jack laughed and pointed at his face, "He looks like Hulk!"

Haley turned to Jack and grinned, "Oh, you want some too?"

Reid wiped his face and looked at Jack with mock horror, "Run, Jack!"

Jack squealed and jumped down from the counter, grabbing a tube of blue icing on his way down. Jack took off running in the direction of the stairs and Reid watched as Haley dashed after him yelling, "I'ma get you! I'ma get you!"

They disappeared around the corner and Reid crept along the wall toward them, scared he was going to get ambushed. He got closer to the corner they disappeared around, holding his tube of icing close to his chest like a gun. He didn't hear anything and he wasn't sure of that was good or bad.

As soon as he turned the corner, two figures jumped out, squealing. Reid yelped and jumped backwards as streams of icing hit him in his chest, face, and eyes. Reid raised his hands to protect himself but it proved no use.

Eventually, they ran out of icing but they continued laughing. Reid wiped the icing off of his face with the end of his shirt.

"Ha-Ha, very funny," Reid said dully except the smile on his face showed he was just kidding.

Haley calmed down her laughing and smiled happily at Reid, "You can take a shower in the bathroom down the hall. I think I still have some of Aaron's old clothes you can wear while I wash yours."

"Oh, you don't have to do that," Reid said as his cheeks heated.

Haley waved her hand, "Nonsense. Jack and I'll take a shower in my bathroom; I'll get the clothes for you."

Reid nodded and wiped the remaining icing off of his face. Haley walked disappeared around the corner again with Jack trailing behind her. Reid looked down at his now, rainbow colored clothes. His shirt had a mixture of blue and green swirls as did his hands from his attempted blocking.

Haley reappeared and handed Reid a bundle of clothes.

"The bathroom's right down there," she said and pointed down the hall. Reid nodded his thanks and headed in the direction she pointed. Once he was inside the bathroom, he turned on the shower and quickly stripped himself of his sticky clothing. He took a quick shower, scrubbing his skin and hair, and then turned the water off.

He stepped out of the shower and patted himself dry with the white towel that was folded neatly on the sink. He examined the clothes Haley had given him; black sweat pants that were baggy on his thin frame, a grey t-shirt that, like the pants, were at least a size too big, and he put back on his same boxers. He felt strange wearing Hotch's old clothes, almost as if he were replacing him.

Reid walked out of the bathroom and stretched. He still heard the other shower running, signaling Haley was still in. Reid sighed and plopped down on the couch. He leaned his head back and resigned to watching the remainder of The Lion King. Which just so happen to only consist of the credits. He glanced at the clock above the TV. 12:11 A.M.

He sighed and closed and closed his eyes. Without meaning to, he slowly drifted off to sleep.

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><p><strong>Yeeeeaaah, I still have the feeling that this story is kind of weak... Like it has no stability or stable plot line. But truth be told, I have no clue where I'm taking this story. I still need to consider Hotch, the team, and where Jack would stilll stand in this if Reid and Haley DID become a couple. Hmm... I'm beginning to see why nobody has done this pairing before, it's so darn hard!<strong>

**Oh, well, reviews are welcomed and loved!**


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